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Virtual Cockpit question (Read 607 times)

Apr 26^th, 2003 at 2:30pm

HABU Offline
Colonel
Paradise by dashboard
light.

Posts: 372

My latest FSDS2 project aircraft in real life used a red laser beam projected onto the panel from the side of the cockpit as an artificial horizon line to aid pilot night orientation.

Is this possible using one of the many tags in FSDS2?

I was thinking of having a transparent box as the projected line which would be triggered by time of day.

HELP me PLEASE!! Sad

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Reply #1 - Apr 26^th, 2003 at 2:53pm

Felix/FFDS Offline
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Orlando, FL

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Your red laser would still have to act as an artificual horizon? I;d say there's a special artificial horizon gauge somewhere in the mix, with "nightime" textures...

I've forwarded the posting to someone who may have an idea...

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #2 - Apr 26^th, 2003 at 3:25pm

HABU Offline
Colonel
Paradise by dashboard
light.

Posts: 372

Thanks Felix, I hadn't thought of actually using a gauge!! I thought a part would have to be used!

I would also reveal the type of aircraft but I've probably said too much anyway!!

Thanks for your help I wouldn't know the first thing about building gauges just a simple night visible red line will do! Would need to be high res I think as it stretches from one side of the centre panel to the other.

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Reply #3 - Apr 27^th, 2003 at 9:15am

Felix/FFDS Offline
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FINALLY an official Granddad!
Orlando, FL

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Posts: 1000000627

I posed the question to Graham Oxtoby - part of the FSDS2 "inside team" and frequent poster at the FFDS Forum .. his site, Simcraft 3D, also has a bunch of FSDS2 tutorials...

Quote:

Hi Felix,

A red line as requested by this designer can be designed without tags.
Simply create the laser beam using the transparent box and tag it with the
Dark SDL macro or is this too simple? It would show up in the correct
position when light falls and you wouldn't need time settings. On the other
hand, timer settings can be done with variables attached to the objects
visibility. If it needs to be used as an active line, i.e. actually
displaying the artificial horizon, then an XML gauge would be your best bet.
This could be on the settings of any of the standard gauges in FS, but be
preferably based on an existing XML gauge (black out all but the horizon
line and background reference. Another option is to use an existing HUD
gauge but to turn the green to a luminous red color.

Another option would be to use the aileron and elevator tags in FSDS,
possibly with the elevon tags too. Two vertical lines on the left and right
side of a static horizontal line could be animated so that you get more or
less the same effect...one line would go down as the other goes up in
relation to the static horizontal line. Linked to the elevator tag, you
could also have them follow an upward and downward motion as the planes
climbs, decends and banks to left or right. This is optical illusion of
course, since the horizontal line would be static.

These are just a few ideas....

cheers

Graham

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #4 - Apr 30^th, 2003 at 2:07pm